Press Release

M&I Bank Named Wisconsin's SBA 504 Program Lender of the Year for the Fifth Consecutive Year

M&I Bank was recently recognized by the Wisconsin Small Business Administration (SBA) as the 504 Loan Program Lender of the Year. This is the fifth consecutive year that M&I Bank has received the award.

The SBA 504 loan program is a long-term financing tool for economic development within a community. This economic development program has a primary focus on job creation. The 504 Program provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed-rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land, buildings, and equipment.

'This recognition is a direct result of the work by many M&I bankers throughout the state who offer SBA loans to our customers as an alternative way of financing small business growth,' said Dick Becker, regional group president, M&I Bank, Wisconsin Region. 'Through the SBA 504 Program, our customers benefit from longer term financing than what banks can provide on a conventional basis, many times making the payments and terms more affordable for the small business.'

'M&I Bank recognizes the importance of small businesses in our economy,' said Nate Cunniff, senior vice president, business banking, M&I Bank. 'The bank's use of programs such as the SBA 504 program has benefited many Wisconsin companies who have subsequently added jobs and increased economic development in their communities.'

M&I Bank is an affiliate of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (NYSE:MI) , a diversified financial services corporation headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., with $56.6 billion in assets. Founded in 1847, M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank is the largest Wisconsin-based bank, with 192 offices throughout the state. In addition, M&I has 53 locations throughout Arizona; 33 offices in Indianapolis and nearby communities; 36 offices along Florida's west coast and in central Florida; 15 offices in Kansas City and nearby communities; 26 offices in metropolitan Minneapolis/St. Paul, and one in Duluth, Minn.; and one office in Las Vegas, Nev. M&I's Southwest Bank subsidiary has 17 offices in the greater St. Louis area. M&I also provides trust and investment management, equipment leasing, mortgage banking, asset-based lending, financial planning, investments, and insurance services from offices throughout the country and on the Internet (www.mibank.com or www.micorp.com). M&I's customer-based approach, internal growth, and strategic acquisitions have made M&I a nationally recognized leader in the financial services industry.